Precast insulated concrete wall assembly

ABSTRACT

A prefabricated concrete wall panel may include a concrete top beam, a concrete bottom beam, studs interposed between the top and bottom beams and a concrete exterior interposed between the top and bottom beams. Water-impervious protective end caps may be placed on ends of the studs to preclude contact between the studs and the concrete of the beams.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61460506 filed on Jan. 4, 2011.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a prefabricated concrete wall, and more specifically, to such a wall with a prefabricated concrete exterior with a structural skeleton formed from wood or composite framing lumber.

Various prefabricated and precast wall panels for construction of building foundations and structures are known. Typically such walls may be constructed with concrete or metal studs with sheet insulation sandwiched between concrete layers. Wood or composite studs, with their inherent desirable features, have not been used in such walls because direct contact with wet concrete during fabrication may have a deleterious effect on studs.

As can be seen, there is a need for a system of constructing precast insulated concrete walls with studs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, a prefabricated concrete wall panel may comprise a concrete top beam; a concrete bottom beam; studs interposed between the top and bottom beams; a concrete exterior interposed between the top and bottom beams; and protective end caps on one or more of the studs interposed between the studs and the top and bottom beams.

In another aspect of the present invention, protective end caps for studs of a precast concrete wall panel with integral concrete beams may comprise a water impervious body configured to enclose an end of the stud and preclude direct contact between concrete and the stud within the integral concrete beams.

In still another aspect of the invention, a method for producing precast wall panels may comprise the steps of applying protective end caps to end portions of studs, leaving mid portions of the studs unenclosed by the end caps; placing the studs in a pouring jig with spaces between the studs; applying covering over the mid potions portions of the studs and mid portions of the spaces between the studs; and pouring concrete onto the covering and around the protective end caps.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a precast wall panel in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the wall panel of FIG. 1 taken along the line 2-2;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a protective end cap in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross sectional view of the wall panel of FIG. 2 taken along the line 4-4;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross sectional view of the wall panel of FIG. 1 taken along the line 5-5;

FIG. 6 is a partial cross sectional view of the wall panel of FIG. 1 taken along the line 5-5;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross sectional view of the wall panel of FIG. 1 taken along the line 7-7;

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are elevation views of alternate embodiments of protective end caps in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Various inventive features are described below that can each be used independently of one another or in combination with other features.

Broadly, embodiments of the present invention generally provide a wall system that uses conventional framing lumber incorporated within concrete top and bottom beams that have compressive and tensile properties. Protective caps may be placed over the top and bottom of each conventional framing stud to protect the ends of the studs from direct contact with concrete of top and bottom beams.

Referring now to the Figures it may be seen that in an exemplary embodiment, a wall panel 10 may comprise conventional wood or composite studs 11 (referred to herein generally as studs 11), end protector caps 12, intermediate sheeting 14, blocks 15, horizontal rebar 16, wire reinforcement 17, intermediate reinforcement 18, a bottom beam 19, a top beam 20, and exterior wall concrete 21. Curved rebar 30 may be shaped for attachment to the horizontal rebar 16 and the wire reinforcement 17.

The wall panel 10 may be constructed in the following steps. Each end of every stud 11 with may be enclosed with one of the end protective caps 12, leaving a mid section 11-1 of the stud unenclosed. The studs 11 may be aligned in a framing and pouring jig (not shown) with conventional spacing between the studs. Intermediate sheeting 14 may be attached to each stud 11. Blocks 15 may be added between the studs 11 at the top and bottom of the wall panel 10 to prevent concrete from flowing into spaces between the studs 11. Horizontal rebar 16 may be installed as required into rebar cutouts 27 of end protector caps 12. Curved rebar 30 may be installed as required. Horizontal rebar 16 may be attached to or through the intermediate clips 18. Wire reinforcement may be attached onto the horizontal rebar 16. Concrete may be poured to create the top and bottom beam 19 and 20 and exterior wall concrete 21

Referring now to FIG. 3, an exemplary embodiment of the protective end cap 12 may comprise a body 13 with an opening 24 into which the stud 11 may be inserted and a tab 25 for engaging with a corresponding groove 11-2 formed on the stud 11. The end cap 12 may also comprise a bottom fin 26 with rebar cutouts 27, a back fin 28 with rebar cutouts 29 and side fins 30 which may hold the blocks 15 in place while concrete is poured during construction of the wall panel 10. The tab 25 may be formed at an angle relative to a bottom plane of the wall panel 10, i.e., not orthogonal to an axis of the stud 11. Consequently, interaction of the tab 25 and the groove in the stud 11 may effectively lock the cap 12 and the stud 11 into the wall panel 10.

Referring now to FIG. 8, another exemplary embodiment of a protective cap 12D is illustrated. The cap 12D may differ from the cap 12 of FIG. 3 in that the cap 12D may have a sloped bottom 40. It may be seen (in FIG. 8) that a portion of the concrete of the bottom beam 19 may fill in a space adjacent the sloped bottom 40 thus effectively locking the cap 12D and the stud 11 into the wall panel 10. Alternatively an end cap such as an end cap 12B or 12C, shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 may be provided with a chamfer 42. Concrete may fill in a space adjacent the chamfer 42 thus effectively locking the end cap 12C and the stud 11 into the wall panel 10.

The protective end caps may be constructed from water impervious material (e.g., injection molded plastic or metal) so that they are tolerant of long-term contact with concrete. The end caps may form a permanent protective barrier between the studs 11 and concrete within the wall panel 10.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. 

1. A prefabricated concrete wall panel comprising: a concrete top beam; a concrete bottom beam; studs interposed between the top and bottom beams; a concrete exterior interposed between the top and bottom beams; and protective end caps on one or more of the studs interposed between the studs and the top and bottom beams.
 2. The wall panel of claim 1 wherein the end caps comprise: a water impervious body configured to enclose an end of the stud; fins attached to exterior surfaces of the body; and one or more rebar supports formed in one or more of the fins.
 3. The wall panel of claim 1 wherein the protective end caps are plastic.
 4. The wall panel of claim 1 further comprising rebar supported by the protective end caps.
 5. Protective end caps for studs of a precast concrete wall panel with integral concrete beams, the end caps comprising a water impervious body configured to enclose an end of the stud and preclude direct contact between concrete and the stud within the integral concrete beams.
 6. The protective end cap of claim 5 further comprising a tab configured to engage with a groove in the stud, the tab being oriented to be not orthogonal to an axis of the stud so that interaction of the tab and the groove in the stud lock the stud into the wall panel when the end cap is encased in the concrete beam.
 7. The protective end cap of claim 5 further comprising a bottom having a chamfer, the chamfer being engageable with a portion of the concrete beam to lock the stud into the wall panel when the end cap is encased in the concrete beam.
 8. The protective end cap of claim 5 further comprising: fins attached to exterior surfaces of the body; and one or more rebar supports formed in one or more of the fins.
 9. A method for producing precast wall panels comprising the steps of: applying protective end caps to end portions of studs, leaving mid portions of the studs unenclosed by the end caps; placing the studs in a pouring jig with spaces between the studs; applying covering over the mid potions of the studs and mid portions of the spaces between the studs; and pouring concrete onto the covering and around the protective end caps.
 10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of: attaching rebar to the protective end caps prior to pouring the concrete, wherein the step of pouring concrete includes pouring concrete around the rebar so that reinforced beams are produced in the wall. 